Timothy Sichela
30 May 2011
ZAMBIAN champions Zesco yesterday left themselves with another upheal battle in North Africa after securing only a narrow victory over Maghreb Association Sportive (MAS) of Morocco in the first of the two-legged elimination tie for the right to contest the group phase of the Confederations Cup.
After bowing out of contention from the 2011 CAF Orange Champions’ League at the hands of Cairo giants and six time African champions Al Ahly last month via a 1-0 aggregate score, Zesco created enough chances to kill off the return leg in Morocco by securing a comprehensive win, but they only manage a goal.
Substitute Derrick Kabwe headed home a Potipher Zulu cross on 62 minutes, a minute after his earlier effort was tipped over the crossbar by MAS goalkeeper Znito Anas, coming some four minutes after replacing Nicholas Zulu.
Kabwe could have made it twice seven minutes later, but he fluffed a sitter after receiving a deft diagonal cross from Sydney Kalume, who himself a minute later broke through the MAS defence and with only goalkeeper to beat, shot wide.
On 74th, Potipher Zulu who was probably Zesco’s man of the match fumbled another Zesco effort, miss-kicking the ball which landed in his path after it had hit the bar off a throw-in.
Where the Zesco midfield failed to create clear-cut opportunities for the forwards in the first period, they created more chances enough to score at least four goals after the break, but the most striking weakness was in the side’s lack of punch upfront.
The 38th minutes substitution of play-maker Clifford Chipalo for Innocent Mwaba was met with disapproval by fans, most of whom thought the wasteful forward Jackson Mwanza should have been the one to go out.
And after the break, and with MAS resorting to simply delay the game, Zesco attacked incessantly and created a lot of chances, but their forwards only lined up in missing chances, prompting some fans to shout to the former Zesco players Rainford Kalaba and Jonas Sakuwaha, now playing professional football, who were in the VIP stand with the national team to step into the field of play.
Zesco coach, Fighton Simukonda, whose side visibly missed top striker – the injured Alfred Luputa in their search for a comfortable win to put them in good stead to progress in the competition, blamed the whole squad for failing to score at least three goals.
“We could have scored three or four, but you know how football is cruel sometimes; I blame the whole squad, we could have wrapped up the game. A win is a win, though. Now, that we know MAS we have to adjust here and there (ahead of the return leg),” Simukonda said.
MAS coach, Rachid Taoussi, whose side’s mission to Zambia was secure a draw, seemed not disappointed with the 1-0 loss, saying they would easily overturn the result in the return leg on home turf.
“We are going to win; we have seen their weaknesses; our pitch is better and we will have our supporters,” he said, while complaining about how the Sudanese referee Abdel Rayman Khalid sometimes officiated the match as if it was a rugby game.
The return leg is set for the weekend of June 10 -12, with the winner over two matches advancing to the mini-league series.
Zesco 1 MAS 0
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Africa: ‘Wasteful’ Zesco Beat Moroccans